Wednesday Briefs: Bad Karma and the Family Plan #94 (20.3)

 Good morning and Happy Hump Day! If it's Wednesday, then it must be time for more flash fiction from the Wednesday Briefers! We're a group of authors who bring you our finest flash fiction every week, 500 to 1000 words, inspired by one of our prompts.

The moment you've been waiting for (but not Vinny) - face to face with the Florida Mangler once again! See what's happening in this week's chapter of Bad Karma and the Family Plan. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!

Bad Karma and the Family Plan #94 (20.3)

We were shown into a private room off the main hallway. The only furniture in the room was a table and three chairs. And in the single chair across from us, sitting there with the smuggest expression on his smarmy face, was… you know who.

The Florida Mangler himself. The man who’d killed our late partner, Eva June, among others. The man who’s kidnapped me and held me hostage for reasons I still didn’t comprehend. I won’t add injury to insult by referring to him as the alleged Florida Mangler, even though he hadn’t been to trial yet and wasn’t everyone innocent until proven guilty, because we knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was the Mangler. Despite whatever his lawyer might or might not plead when the time came, up to and including insanity. But I didn’t believe for one moment that Chip was crazy, just very evil.

If I’d expected Chip to look the worse for being incarcerated all this time, I was sadly mistaken. Apparently jail agreed with him as he retained his frat boy looks. If anything, his reddish-brown hair had grown longer, giving him a somewhat more feminine appearance, and his pale green eyes wore a look of amusement that definitely did reach his lips in the form a smirk.

I came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the doorway, having followed after Ethan and the policeman, my feet having refused to cooperate and enter the room. I could clearly see that Chip was manacled in place, and even if we sat directly across fom him at the table, he would not be able to reach either of us. That didn’t keep me from worrying that he might try.

I barely heard the recitation of the rules given by our escort, until he said he would be right outside the door, which I was still standing inside. Ethan turned to face me, a concerned look on his handsome face.

“C’mon in, Vinny,” Chip beckoned me with a wolfish grin. “Let me see that pretty face.” He chuckled at his own warped wit.

Ethan stepped closer to me, lowering his voice so only I could hear. “We can leave if you want. We don’t have to do this.”

But I knew we did if we were ever to get closure. I didn’t trust the court system to provide that. I’d seen too many cases where killers were sentenced but never had to explain why they had done what they’d done.

“I’ll be okay, Ethan,” I assured him, even though I wasn’t so sure myself. I took a step inside the room, and then another. Ethan nodded at the officer and he left, closing the door behind him and locking us in with our archenemy.

Straighten your spine, DelaRosa. You can do this.

I took a deep breath and nodded to Ethan. We covered the short distance between us and the table and took our seats.

“Long time no see, guys,” Chip remarked.

 to be continued

Now see what the other Briefers are up to!

Cia Nordwell

J Ray Lamb

Saturday is Horror Day #140 - A Monster Calls, Silent Night, Deadly Night 2

A Monster Calls

 

Twelve-year-old Conor (Lewis MacDougall) i8s having a rough life.  His mother (Felicity Jones) is dying, and the thought of living with his strict grandmother (Sigourney Weaver) is more than he can bear. On top of that, he is being bullied at school, and no one will come to his assistance. His dad (Toby Kebbell) lives in America now, and he has a new family, and he has no room for Conor. What's a boy to do?

But then he encounter a monster in the form of a giant tree (Liam Neeson). While frightening at first, he helps Conor to cope with the reality of his existence. He tells Conor that he shall tell him three stories and then Conor will tell him his own story. Conor protests that he has no story to tell, but the Monster proceeds anyway with his tales.

I honestly did not know what to expect from this movie, but I was most pleasantly surprised. Twelve is

very young to have to deal with the impending death of one parent and the seeming indifference of the other, along with a grandmother he barely knows and doesn't like. It's a tale of bravery and imagination that will warm the coldest of hearts. It's well written, acted, and directed. I really enjoyed it. I'll give this film 4.5 Stars.

Silent Night, Deadly Night 2

Ricky Caldwell (Eric Freeman) was just a baby and his brother Billy only 7 when their family was attacked by a man in a Santa suit by the side of the road. Dad was shot and killed, and Mom was assaulted and murdered in front of her children. The two boys were sent to live in an orphanage run by Mother Superior (Jean Miller). Billy grew up haunted by what he had seen, and the nun was brutal in her punishments. He became a serial killer in a Santa suit himself.

Fast forward a number of years. Ricky is in a mental institution, being interviewed by the new psychiatrist.  He tells of his past family trauma, but he has plans of his own. Will history repeat itself?

Silent Night Deadly Night 2 picks up where the last one left off. But if you haven't seen the first one,  no worries - this one recaps all of the highlights of that film, and that takes up about two-thirds of this movie. So you might as well skip the first one completely.

Let there be no doubt this movie is all about shock and gore and senseless violence. And women with bare breasts. The writing is horrible, the acting atrocious. It's like watching a train wreck. And yet you find you can't look away. If you don't take it seriously, and just accept it for it is, you might not be sorry you watched it. I didn't realize I'd already seen one of the scenes  in another video. Now I'll never forget Garbage Day. All things considered, I'll give this movie 2.5 Stars. I hear there are sequels. Might have to check them out.

Saturday is Horror Day #140 - M3gan

 M3gan

Gemma (Allison Williams) is a robotics engineer at a toy company. She is frustrated to learn that the project she has been working on to produce a lifelike AI doll is not being greenlit. Despite that, she continues to work on it, confident that this will take the toy world by storm and be a major seller. When she unexpectedly becomes the guardian for her orphaned niece Cady (Violet McGraw), she finishes the prototype and gives it to Cady, so the company will see what the doll, M3gan, can do. 

Cady, devastated by the loss of her parents and having her life uprooted, takes to M3gan immediately. The AI becomes everything to her, and they become inseparable. Everything seems to be going well...until M3gan develops a mind of her own. And she won't let anybody keep her down.

I've been wanting to see this for some time, so was glad of the opportunity to see it. I thought it was

interesting to watch, and the AI M3gan was quite chilling, and she had some interesting moves. I certainly wouldn't want to cross her. Makes you think about the possible pitfalls of creating such an AI. But overall, it was a decent film, and I am looking forward to the sequel.  I'll give this film 4 Stars.

Wednesday Briefs: Bad Karma and the Family Plan #93 (20.2)

 Good morning and Happy Hump Day! If it's Wednesday, then it must be time for more flash fiction from the Wednesday Briefers! We're a group of authors who bring you our finest flash fiction every week, 500 to 1000 words, inspired by one of our prompts.

Vinnie and Ethan arrive in Green Cove Springs and prepare to meet their nemesis, the Florida Mangler. See what's happening in this week's chapter of Bad Karma and the Family Plan. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them! Their links follow my tale!

Bad Karma and the Family Plan #93 (20.2)

The Clay County Detention Center/ was a more imposing structure than I had imagined it would be for such a small town. It probably housed inmates from many areas of northern Florida, I surmised. We’d received instructions from Anderson on what was expected of us, and left everything inside the vehicle, including our weapons. Neither Ethan nor I cared for that idea, but we had no choice. The rules applied to law enforcement visitors as well as others. I supposed it would be different if we were dropping off or picking up. But as Chip was already there, and I had no intention of taking him with us (the very thought made me shudder), we followed their instructions before we made our approach to the edifice.

We’d left Benny with a very nice lady who ran a pet daycare close to our motel. Benny seemed reticent about staying with her at first until she produced a particularly delicious-looking treat for him, after which he became a willing participant to being left behind and barely spared us a glance as he wolfed down his largesse and then proceeded to introduce himself to some of his fellow canines.

“Fickle child,” I muttered under my breath as we returned to our car and Ethan opened my door for me. “He could have at least pretended like he was sorry to see us go.”

Ethan laughed and kissed me softly. “Don’t worry. He’ll make up for it when we pick him up later.” I knew that was right. As usual, Ethan made me feel better. No wonder I keep him around.

Okay, he keeps me around. Same difference.

And maybe I wasn’t really perturbed at our pup’s seeming indifference but was using it to mask what was really bothering me. Which, of course, my observant and intuitive boy quickly figured out. Before we reached the front door, he drew me aside and hugged me.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” I could hear the concern in his voice.

“No,” I said honestly. “But I’m going to do this. I can do this.”  I looked deep into his beautiful blue eyes and hoped he would understand my determination not to give in to my fear. Of course he did.

“I know you can, Vinny,” he agreed. “I have faith in you. Always have. Okay, then, let’s do this thing.” He kissed me gently and we proceeded on our way. We headed to an information desk where we gave them our information and presented our badges. I’d expected to have some sort of wait, but an officer was immediately delegated to escort us to our destination.

I remember thinking that at least he’d be on the other side of a plexiglass barrier, as far from us as possible…

But how wrong I was. Which I quickly discovered when we were shown into a private room whose only furniture was a table and three chairs. And sitting on the other side of that table, hands and feet securely chained, a smug look upon his face, was none other than the stuff of my nightmares…

Chip…aka the Florida Mangler.

Let the games begin.

to be continued

Now see what's up with the other Briefers!

Cia Nordwell

J Ray Lamb

Saturday is Horror Day #139 - Renfield

 Renfield

Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) was once a solicitor in his native England, living the good life, his future seemingly bright. But a fateful business trip to meet with a client in faraway Transylvania changed Renfield's life forever. He became the minion of that client, Count Dracula (Nicolas Cage), and now, years, later, he finds himself attending meetings of a group that deals with codependency. Listening to the stories of his fellow attendees, he realizes he can't help them change themselves, but he can do something to the people who make their lives miserable.

Renfield and Dracula are now living in New Orleans, after Dracula was almost killed by vampire 

hunters, so that he may recuperate. Renfield is fed up with suffering abuse in silent, which is why he begins to attend the 12-step program meetings. He decides to use the abusers to feed Dracula, in order to ameliorate his guilt for having sacrificed many innocent people in the past. But he ends up in conflict with a rival crime family, the Lobos, and he kills their assassin, which brings him to meet Detective Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina). One thing leads to another, and Renfield confesses his story to Rebecca, deepening the relationship between them, and ultimately leading to a confrontation with Dracula himself.

Renfield is a dark comedy/horror/fantasy film with a whole lot of gore thrown in for good measure. Nicholas Hoult is amazing as the beleaguered and fed-up minion who finally decides that enough is enough. As for Nic Cage, he plays the part of Dracula for all he's worth, which is saying quite a lot. Campy, creepy, and yet somehow likeable. It's clear he had fun with the role, and I had fun watching this movie. I loved Awkwafina in Crazy Rich Asians, and I loved her here, she is very talented and has great comedic timing. Just be aware that there is a great deal of blood, and if this is a trigger for you, maybe you should pass on this. I would love to see it again, and plan to do so.

I give Renfield 4.5 Stars.

Wednesday Briefs: Bad Karma and the Family Plan #92 (20.1)

 Good morning and Happy Hump Day! If it's Wednesday, then it must be time for more flash fiction from the Wednesday Briefers! We're a group of authors who bring you our finest flash fiction every week, 500 to 1000 words, inspired by one of our prompts.

Vinnie and Ethan are on their way to Green Cove Springs, Florida, the city where the Florida Mangler is currently incarcerated. Ethan offered to go alone, in order to spare Vinnie, but he wasn't having it. See what's going on in this week's chapter of Bad Karma and the Family Plan. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!

Bad Karma and the Family Plan #92 (20.1)

Chip, aka the Florida Mangler, was being held in the Clay County Jail, in Green Cove Springs, Florida. His trial hadn’t happened yet, which was why he wasn’t in prison, and he was being held without bail, so I knew he wasn’t getting out any time soon. Under Florida law, a judge had the right to rule that a particularly violent crime warranted withholding bail, deeming that person to be a threat to society. Considering what Chip was accused of, that decision seemed to be a no-brainer.

Normally, according to what the website for the jail said, visitation had to be scheduled 24 hours in advance. But Anderson was able to get that formality waived for us—don’t ask me how, probably as a courtesy between law enforcement officers. However, that meeting wouldn’t happen until the next day, since Green Cove Springs was a good five hour drive from where we were. Probably a little more, depending on how often we stopped to walk Benny. To be honest, that didn’t exactly break my heart, either. If I could postpone this meeting forever, I would. But I didn’t tell Ethan that, naturally. Just nodded when he gave me the information and said that sounded good.

On the drive, we discussed Sarah’s moving in, and what we needed to do to facilitate that. Of course, it wasn’t like she’d given us an actual date or anything. We just wanted to make sure the extra bedroom was ready for her and Alex to move into for however long they needed to stay. I knew it wouldn’t be forever, and I was fine with them staying for the foreseeable future. Ethan would be happy to have his twin there, so I would be happy. Win-win situation.

We arrived in Green Cove Springs in early evening. While Ethan drove, I had been searching for places that would accept pets, as well as daycare services for them. We certainly didn’t want to leave Benny in the car while we went inside the jail, and I doubted he would be a welcome visitor either. Luckily I was able to find both.

The motel, which wasn’t part of any chain or anything, was small but nice. The clerk who checked us in proudly informed us that they were family owned and operated, and the entire family were animal lovers. He oohed and ahhed over Benny and, with our permission of course, offered him a treat from a bowl they kept on the counter for canine visitors. That won our pup over, of course, at which point, he gave his approval for the sleeping arrangements.

“You know what’s funny,” I said to Ethan as we settled into our room and ordered delivery from a nearby restaurant.

“What’s that?”

“I can’t imagine our lives without Benny, you know? I mean, sure, I remember a time before we had him, but it seems so long ago.”

Ethan chuckled. “I can remember a time when you wished I wasn’t in your life. I bet you couldn’t have imagined us together back then. Not only together, but engaged to be married.”

My cheeks heated, not surprisingly, at his words. What he said was very true. I had to admit I’d grown a lot in the time since I’d met Ethan, and he’d been the catalyst for that change.

“I know I treated you badly…” I heard myself stammer, which was no end annoying. But before I could add anything to my statement, he’d rounded the bed and cut off any further conversation with a kiss. Kisses, rather. Which ended up with us tumbling onto the bed together, kissing, rubbing, moaning…until a knock at the door reminded us we were expecting food. And that put an end to things. At least for then.

 to be continued

Now go see what's up with the other Briefers!

Cia Nordwell

 

Saturday is Horror Day #138 - Oculus

 Oculus

Kaylie Russell (Karen Gillan) has an obsession  - she is determined to prove that it wasn't her father who killed her and her brother Tim's (Brenton Thwaites) mother, but rather supernatural forces. First she obtains the mirror once owned by her parents, at a dear price. Then she picks up her brother on his release from the mental institution where he has been incarcerated since he was a teen for the murder of his family. She needs his help and wants to prove everything to Tim as well.

Kaylie has everything set up, including multiple cameras and alarms, and even a fail-safe plan with a kill switch should everything else prove fruitless. Tim is skeptical but can't convince his sister that she is wrong, helpless to stop her as they both recall the events that led them to this point.

Oculus flips back and forth from the past to the present, which is a little confusing at first as both Kaylie and her mom have red hair. In the past, we watch as the family unit disintegrates,  including the father's own obsession with the mirror, the mother's fears that he is losing him to another woman, and the helplessness of the children to do anything. Kaylie is trying to induce the mirror to kill again, and she wants to get it on video.

Oculus is certainly not a bad film, and its director, Mike Flanagan, no stranger to the genre, having also directed such films as Doctor Sleep, The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and Ouija: Origin of Evil. I like Karen Gillan and have ever since she played Amy Pond. But I found her character offputting her, almost like she was sleepwalking through everything. Not sure if that was intentional or not, but I couldn't like anyone in this film and that becomes problematic when you have no one to root for.

Perhaps I couldn't get behind the idea of the mirror itself as an evil entity - or was it something inside the mirror? Was the movie creepy? That it was. Did it hold my interest? Not really. I know there are a lot of favorable reviews, so it comes down to a matter of individual taste. And that, after all, is what reviews are about. I just couldn't really get into it, and thought it availed itself of rather common tropes. But decide for yourself. As for me, I'll give this film 3 Stars.

Wednesday Briefs: Bad Karma and the Family Plan #92 (20.1)

 Good morning and Happy Hump Day! If it's Wednesday, then it must be time for more flash fiction from the Wednesday Briefers! We're a group of authors who bring you our finest flash fiction every week, 500 to 1000 words, inspired by one of our prompts.

Vinnie and Ethan are on their way to Green Cove Springs, Florida, the city where the Florida Mangler is currently incarcerated. Ethan offered to go alone, in order to spare Vinnie, but he wasn't having it. See what's going on in this week's chapter of Bad Karma and the Family Plan. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!

Bad Karma and the Family Plan #92 (20.1)

Chip, aka the Florida Mangler, was being held in the Clay County Jail, in Green Cove Springs, Florida. His trial hadn’t happened yet, which was why he wasn’t in prison, and he was being held without bail, so I knew he wasn’t getting out any time soon. Under Florida law, a judge had the right to rule that a particularly violent crime warranted withholding bail, deeming that person to be a threat to society. Considering what Chip was accused of, that decision seemed to be a no-brainer.

Normally, according to what the website for the jail said, visitation had to be scheduled 24 hours in advance. But Anderson was able to get that formality waived for us—don’t ask me how, probably as a courtesy between law enforcement officers. However, that meeting wouldn’t happen until the next day, since Green Cove Springs was a good five hour drive from where we were. Probably a little more, depending on how often we stopped to walk Benny. To be honest, that didn’t exactly break my heart, either. If I could postpone this meeting forever, I would. But I didn’t tell Ethan that, naturally. Just nodded when he gave me the information and said that sounded good.

On the drive, we discussed Sarah’s moving in, and what we needed to do to facilitate that. Of course, it wasn’t like she’d given us an actual date or anything. We just wanted to make sure the extra bedroom was ready for her and Alex to move into for however long they needed to stay. I knew it wouldn’t be forever, and I was fine with them staying for the foreseeable future. Ethan would be happy to have his twin there, so I would be happy. Win-win situation.

We arrived in Green Cove Springs in early evening. While Ethan drove, I had been searching for places that would accept pets, as well as daycare services for them. We certainly didn’t want to leave Benny in the car while we went inside the jail, and I doubted he would be a welcome visitor either. Luckily I was able to find both.

The motel, which wasn’t part of any chain or anything, was small but nice. The clerk who checked us in proudly informed us that they were family owned and operated, and the entire family were animal lovers. He oohed and ahhed over Benny and, with our permission of course, offered him a treat from a bowl they kept on the counter for canine visitors. That won our pup over, of course, at which point, he gave his approval for the sleeping arrangements.

“You know what’s funny,” I said to Ethan as we settled into our room and ordered delivery from a nearby restaurant.

“What’s that?”

“I can’t imagine our lives without Benny, you know? I mean, sure, I remember a time before we had him, but it seems so long ago.”

Ethan chuckled. “I can remember a time when you wished I wasn’t in your life. I bet you couldn’t have imagined us together back then. Not only together, but engaged to be married.”

My cheeks heated, not surprisingly, at his words. What he said was very true. I had to admit I’d grown a lot in the time since I’d met Ethan, and he’d been the catalyst for that change.

“I know I treated you badly…” I heard myself stammer, which was no end annoying. But before I could add anything to my statement, he’d rounded the bed and cut off any further conversation with a kiss. Kisses, rather. Which ended up with us tumbling onto the bed together, kissing, rubbing, moaning…until a knock at the door reminded us we were expecting food. And that put an end to things. At least for then.

 to be continued

Now go see what's up with the other Briefers!

Cia Nordwell